anyone else
by 2olluxampora
Summary: "You don't count. I wouldn't be here if I had anyone else." "That's not what you were saying last weekend. You proposed to me."


**Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)**

 **Ship Battle:** Drarry, (word) reputation

 **Dueling Club, Hawthorn wand, dummy 2:** (AU) coffee shop, (dialogue) "I'm so lonely. No-one wants to hang out anymore." / "What about me!" / "You don't count. I wouldn't be here if I had anyone else.", (scenario) You were drunk and proposed to me but I'm not sure how to bring it up now you're sober because I totally would have said yes

 **Second Chance Soulmates:** Your soulmate's name is written on your wrist

* * *

 _How had he gotten to this point?_ It was a question that Harry had been asking himself more and more often lately. Part of him wasn't even sure he wanted an answer. He'd completely fallen for one of the most unattainable men he'd ever met. Draco Malfoy was snarky, spoiled, impossible to please, and quite possibly a criminal. He'd never wanted anyone more.

The sound of the door opening jolted him out of his thoughts, and Harry looked up from his latte. The coffee shop had become their place, and Harry had taken to spending time there even when they didn't have plans, in the hopes that Draco might do the same.

Today, he wasn't disappointed.

Draco caught his eye while he was waiting in line, flashing a tiny, secretive smile. Smiling back, Harry couldn't help but trace a fingertip over the letters on his wrist.

"Fancy meeting you here," he joked when the other man sat down across from him, taking a sip of coffee and loosely interlocking their fingers.

"Do you really have nothing better to do than sitting around and hoping to see me, Potter?"

"Honestly? No, not at the moment." Was he really so transparent? Plenty of people enjoyed hanging out in coffee shops, frequented them for purposes other than meeting their soulmate.

"Neither do I," Draco admitted, self-assured expression going melancholy. "You've...somehow become one of the best parts of my life. I can...speak to you in a way I can't with other people. I don't have to worry so much about my reputation with you."

"Well, that's how it's supposed to be with soulmates, isn't it?" Harry asked, arching an eyebrow and gently rubbing his thumb against the soft skin of Draco's hand.

"You don't know who I am, Potter," Draco mumbled, an argument that he'd tried to make countless times before. "You don't know what I've done. You shouldn't want to be my soulmate." His voice got harsher than usual at the end of the sentence, spitting out 'soulmate' like it was a dirty word.

"I know what bits and pieces you've let me see so far, and I like them," Harry said honestly. "You're right, I don't know what you've done, or why you're so hesitant about the idea of being with me, but I want to try."

Draco bit his lip, staying silent for a long few moments.

"I've done things I regret. My father isn't a good person, and I don't think I am either," he explained, voice hushed. "For a long time, I didn't think that mattered, but now...I can't change the past." Draco took another sip of coffee, still holding Harry's hand tightly. "I'm just...I'm so lonely. No one wants to hang out anymore. Not that I can blame them," he added with a low chuckle.

"What about me?" Harry asked, indignant.

"You don't count. I wouldn't be here if I had anyone else." This wasn't the first time Draco had said something like that, but it still stung.

"That's not what you were saying last weekend," he blurted without thinking about it. Harry hadn't been planning on bringing up that night at all, but it was too late now. The words were out of his mouth.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Harry," Draco muttered, not seeming to notice his slip-up. Using last names was a way of maintaining emotional distance for him. It hadn't been hard for Harry to figure that much out. The fact that he always seemed to call him Harry when he wasn't in control, then, suggested that his real feelings were much stronger than he let on.

"I think I do. You proposed to me. Not many people would want to marry someone they're only even talking to because they have no other options."

"I was drunk," Draco growled, hand tightening around his coffee cup. "Not thinking clearly."

"I would have said yes," Harry said, face flushing in embarrassment. "If you'd asked when you were sober...I would have said yes."

He tugged up his sleeve a little, showing Draco the name on his wrist.

"This matters to me. The fact that we're soulmates matters. I'm not saying we have to get married tomorrow, obviously. We've only known each other for a few months. But...someday, yeah. I'd like to get to that point with you."

"You don't know me," Draco said again, though his voice was softer now. "There's so much you don't know."

"Then teach me," Harry replied simply.

When he leaned in for a kiss, the sounds of the coffee shop around them fading away, it felt like coming home.


End file.
